Assembly focuses on heroin addiction

AUDIO: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he only recently became aware of the problem. :17

Representative John Nygren authored the package of bills to help families of those battling heroin addictions — his own daughter is among them. Vos says the problem is found in areas across the state.

“It’s not some sort of a situation that only affects big cities or, you know, areas that you might traditionally consider to be more ridden with crime. This is small towns and rural areas and every part of Wisconsin.”

Two of the bills deal specifically with prescription drugs, whose abuse leads to heroin addiction. Another bill allows EMTs to give the antidote drug Narcan to people those who overdose, and a four bill provides immunity for anyone reporting overdoses to 911.